Marian Nicholson MBE is director of the Herpes Viruses Association, an independent charity with two staff and seven volunteers. Since 1985, it has provided patient-friendly, accurate information on herpes simplex. Patients receive self-help advice as well as the details of antiviral treatment. It runs a website, a helpline, Zoom chats twice a month, and offers many patient resources. Its quarterly workshops on the topic of disclosure are very popular.  

Marian has run surveys and published on patient experiences in Int. J. of STIs and AIDS. She has spoken at BASHH, IUSTI and BAD conferences and had posters shown at the conferences for BASHH, BHIVA, and ASHA.  

Marian trains the HVA helpline volunteers. As well as providing facts, the helpline supports patients with their emotional reaction to the herpes stigma, they can talk for as long as they wish and some call repeatedly. The HVA is optimistic that good information can reduce stigma and normalise patients’ lives. 

Useful links:

Website address   https://herpes.org.uk 

Twitter URL   https://x.com/HerpesUK 

Facebook URL  https://www.facebook.com/HerpesVirusesAssociation/ 

LinkedIn URL  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marian-nicholson-mbe-a4085920/ 

Instagram URL  https://www.instagram.com/herpesadvice/ 

YouTube URL  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg8XalJJGF1Jnr5-KtsXGfw